Is college worth it?

College — are its benefits really worth it? Is college really worth all the stress, money, and time? For most, college is the only means to get the knowledge and the credentials required to pursue their career field of interest. For example, most aspiring athletes need to go to a great Division 1 college to be recruited and given a scholarship to both pursue their academic and athletic careers.

To these athletes, college seems like the perfect portal to their dreams but for students who aren’t gifted athletes, college can still seem like a great possibility, albeit a very expensive one. There’s no doubt that the increasing costs of attending college have proved a tremendous burden for students and their families.

Student loan hero states, “Over 44 million Americans collectively hold nearly $1.48 trillion in student debt. That means that roughly one in four American adults are paying off student loans.”

For the most part, a college degree provides a great boost to get a job in one’s field of interest. Opponents claim, however, that achieving prosperity is possible even without a college education. My older brother, for instance, claims that he is in fact better off than many of his friends who have gone off to college.

Although my brother has excelled to find a job, there are still those college graduates who do succeed and find a job in their dream career. College can prove to be a great investment, provided financial aid is considered and the amount of loans taken out are minimal. That being said, Forbes states, “[the] percent of unemployed college graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher is 2.5 percent” compared to that of a person who only has a “high school diploma 5.3 percent.”

Although you have a better chance of getting a job if you graduate with a bachelor’s or higher degree, the sad truth is a college degree doesn’t always guarantee a job in your dream career. For example, Gizmodo states, “[there are] “5000 janitors with a PhD in the U.S.” This begs the question, considering all the costs, is college education worth it? You decide.

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High School Insider enables students to post their stories on LATimes.com and report on issues that matter to them and their communities. Through HS Insider, students are provided the opportunity to join a network of more than 300 schools, attend conferences, apply for internships and reach thousands with their reporting. Interested in getting involved? Send an email to Molly.Heber@latimes.com.